- What the Fourteen Headings Actually Are
- How to Read the List: Four Clusters
- Hardware and Architecture Domains (6, 7, 8, 9, 11)
- Logic and Data Domains (10, 12, 13)
- Programming and Control Domains (1, 3)
- Connectivity Domains (2, 4, 5)
- Domain 14: The PLC as a Troubleshooting Tool
- Allen Bradley vs. Siemens: Same Headings, Separate Exams
- Format, Passing Score, and Cost Mechanics
- Sequencing the Fourteen Domains Across Your Course
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The 14 domains are Festo's unweighted preparation topics, not a verified exam blueprint with official percentages.
- Allen Bradley and Siemens curricula share the same fourteen headings but lead to separate exams.
- Virginia CTE lists 50 items per platform exam, school-administered online, with a 70% passing score.
- NC3 charges students US$0 for certification; tuition and institutional charges are separate.
What the Fourteen Headings Actually Are
The Fundamentals of PLCs credential sits in the Festo Industry Certification Program (FICP) at Level 1 Fundamentals, and it is delivered through the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) at participating institutions. Festo publishes separate preparation documents for each platform: document 272391 for Allen Bradley and document 272390 for Siemens, both dated EN 2025.09. Both documents carry the same fourteen preparation-topic headings, and those headings are what this guide calls the "domains."
That wording matters. These are curriculum topics, listed in sequence and without published percentage weights. They do not amount to a verified formal exam blueprint, and the count of fourteen describes the headings in the documents rather than an official exam-domain count. Anyone claiming "Domain 7 is 12% of the test" has information this site could not verify, so we assign no weights anywhere in this article.
How to Read the List: Four Clusters
The order of Festo's list is not the order most people learn the material. Domain 1 is control relays and Domain 14 is troubleshooting, while the building blocks of PLC operation sit in the middle. It helps to regroup the headings into four clusters:
| Cluster | Domains | Core Question |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware and architecture | 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 | What is inside a PLC and how does it connect to the process? |
| Logic and data | 10, 12, 13 | How does the processor evaluate logic and represent values? |
| Programming and control | 1, 3 | How do relay concepts become ladder programs? |
| Connectivity | 2, 4, 5 | How does a PLC talk to other devices, panels, and networks? |
Domain 14, troubleshooting, draws on all four clusters, so we treat it separately. Each platform curriculum is organized into 6 units, 5 labs, and 1 project. Those are training components, not an exam timer, but the hands-on labs are where most of these domains become concrete.
Hardware and Architecture Domains (6, 7, 8, 9, 11)
Domain 6: Basic Design and Operation
The big-picture view of what a PLC is and how it behaves in a control system.
- Why PLCs replaced hard-wired relay panels in many applications
- The cyclical nature of operation: read inputs, evaluate logic, update outputs
- How the controller sits between field devices and the process
Domain 7: PLC Sections: Input, Logic and Output
The three functional sections you must be able to name, place, and describe.
- Input section: receives signals from switches and sensors
- Logic section: executes the stored program
- Output section: drives contactors, indicators, valves, and similar loads
Domain 8: Input Types: Discrete, Analog and Digital
Know what each signal type represents and which field devices produce it.
- Discrete: two-state, on/off devices such as pushbuttons and limit switches
- Analog: continuously varying quantities such as level, pressure, or temperature signals
- Digital: be ready to distinguish "digital" as used in this curriculum from simple discrete on/off
Domain 9: Memory Types: ROM and RAM
A short domain with predictable question angles.
- ROM: retains content without power, typically holds system-level code
- RAM: volatile working memory, typically holds the program and data being processed
- What happens to each when power is lost, and why battery or retentive backup matters
Domain 11: Output Types: Discrete, Analog and Digital
The mirror image of Domain 8. Pair them in your notes.
- Discrete outputs switch loads fully on or off
- Analog outputs deliver a variable signal to drives or proportional devices
- Match each output type to a plausible field device
A practical exercise: take a small machine description, such as a conveyor with a start button, a stop button, a photoeye, and a motor starter, and label every device as a discrete or analog input or output. Do it once with Allen Bradley-style addressing labels and once with Siemens-style labels, since each platform names its I/O differently.
Logic and Data Domains (10, 12, 13)
Domain 10: Logic Processing: Addressing and Scanning
The most conceptually central domain. Expect questions that require you to reason about order of operations.
- Each input and output has an address that ties the program to physical terminals
- The scan reads inputs, solves logic, then updates outputs; the program does not "see" input changes mid-scan
- Why rung order and scan timing can change behavior
Domain 12: Numbering Systems: Decimal, Binary, Octal, Hex and ASCII
Pure skill domain: either you can convert, or you can't.
- Convert between decimal, binary, octal, and hexadecimal by hand
- Understand why PLC words are naturally viewed in binary and hex
- Recognize that ASCII assigns numeric codes to characters, which matters when a PLC exchanges text with printers, scanners, or operator panels
Domain 13: Boolean Functions: Identity, AND/OR/NOT Circuits
The logic foundation under every ladder rung.
- Truth tables for AND, OR, and NOT
- Identity: output simply follows the input
- Translating between a Boolean expression, a gate diagram, and a ladder rung
Domains 10, 12, and 13 reward repetition more than reading. If you want a structured plan around them, see our FPABS study guide, and keep the FPABS cheat sheet handy for conversion tables and truth tables.
Programming and Control Domains (1, 3)
Domain 1: Control Relays
Listed first because ladder logic descends directly from relay logic.
- Coil and contact behavior, normally open versus normally closed
- Control circuits versus power circuits
- Holding (seal-in) circuits and why they work
Domain 3: Programming Techniques
The applied domain: reading and building basic ladder logic.
- Examine-if-closed and examine-if-open style instructions, with manufacturer-specific symbols
- Output coils, latching and unlatching, and basic timer and counter ideas
- Translating a plain-language sequence into rungs
Do not assume Allen Bradley and Siemens instructions look identical on screen. The concepts transfer, but mnemonics, addressing, and software environments differ. Study from the document that matches your exam. The curriculum publication date (EN 2025.09) identifies the document edition, not a required software release, so don't infer a particular programming-software version from it.
Connectivity Domains (2, 4, 5)
Domain 2: Communication Protocols
How devices agree on the rules for exchanging data.
- What a protocol is: format, timing, and error handling for data exchange
- Why different devices and vendors use different protocols
- Serial versus network-based exchange at a conceptual level
Domain 4: HMI Integration
How operators see and command the process.
- An HMI reads and writes PLC data through defined tags or addresses
- Typical functions: indicators, pushbuttons, setpoints, alarms
- Why an HMI button should request an action in the PLC rather than bypass its logic
Domain 5: Networks
PLCs rarely work alone in modern plants.
- Why PLCs, drives, HMIs, and remote I/O are networked
- Basic topology and device-addressing ideas
- How a network fault looks different from a wiring or logic fault
These three domains are easy to underweight because they feel less "PLC-specific," but they connect directly to Domain 14. A candidate who understands that an HMI shows stale data when a communication link drops is already thinking like a troubleshooter.
Domain 14: The PLC as a Troubleshooting Tool
The final domain, "Basic troubleshooting: using a PLC as a troubleshooting tool," flips the usual perspective. Instead of troubleshooting the PLC, you use the PLC's own status information to find problems in the machine.
- Compare I/O status to reality. If an input indicator is on but the program does not respond, suspect the program or address. If the field device is actuated but the input indicator is off, suspect wiring, power, or the device.
- Watch the logic live. Online monitoring of rungs shows which conditions are true and which are blocking an output.
- Separate input, logic, and output. This is where Domain 7 pays off: isolate the faulty section first.
- Consider communications. A dead HMI screen or an unresponsive remote rack points toward the network domain.
Key Takeaway
Build a habit: for every practice rung, ask three questions in order. Is the input arriving? Is the logic true? Is the output being driven? That three-step isolation covers most basic fault-finding scenarios you can expect to be tested on, and it lines up with how the labs are taught.
Allen Bradley vs. Siemens: Same Headings, Separate Exams
Festo's two preparation documents publish the same fourteen headings. That does not mean there is one combined exam. Each platform has its own examination record, and neither curriculum requires you to complete the other. Virginia's CTE Resource Center, for example, lists Fundamentals of PLCs-Allen Bradley and Fundamentals of PLCs-Siemens as separate credentials.
| Item | Allen Bradley | Siemens |
|---|---|---|
| Festo preparation document | 272391 (EN 2025.09) | 272390 (EN 2025.09) |
| Preparation headings | Same fourteen topics | Same fourteen topics |
| Curriculum structure | 6 units, 5 labs, 1 project | 6 units, 5 labs, 1 project |
| Virginia CTE listing | 50 test items, 70% passing score | 50 test items, 70% passing score |
| Examples and terminology | Allen Bradley-labelled | Siemens-labelled |
Choose the platform your instructor and lab equipment use. If you are weighing the two, ask your program which one it trains on, because training by an actively NC3-certified instructor with the required equipment is part of the student pathway. More on that in FPABS requirements.
Format, Passing Score, and Cost Mechanics
What the exam looks like
Virginia's records for each platform list 50 test items, delivered online and administered by the school, with timing determined by the instructor. No fixed national written-exam timer was verified, and each platform is its own exam, so do not treat the figures as a combined 100-question test. Proctoring and open-book or closed-book allowances are set at the school level for each exam, so ask your instructor what applies to you rather than assuming.
Passing score is not pass rate
Student certification requires an exam score of at least 70%, along with completion of all hands-on labs. That threshold tells you how much you must answer correctly; it says nothing about how many candidates succeed. No current issuer-wide pass rate was verified. Details are in FPABS passing score and what the pass-rate data shows.
What it costs
NC3's participation-level documentation lists a student certification charge of US$0. That is separate from training tuition and institutional charges. As one example of how institutions package it, Virginia Western's bundled PLC and sensors course (Allen Bradley, not Siemens) lists estimated tuition of US$999, including online resources, lab equipment, software, and the credentialing exam, with a local Electricity prerequisite. Treat that as a single institution's price, not a universal exam fee. The same college page gives both eight weeks and four weeks for the course length, so confirm the schedule directly. Full breakdown: FPABS certification cost.
Sequencing the Fourteen Domains Across Your Course
This is the one place we address study scheduling, and only to show how the domains depend on each other. Adjust the timeline to your instructor's lab calendar.
Foundations: Domains 6, 7, 1
- Learn input/logic/output sections and basic operation
- Review relay logic, since ladder logic builds on it
Signals and memory: Domains 8, 11, 9
- Classify discrete and analog I/O
- Memorize ROM versus RAM behavior
Logic and data: Domains 10, 13, 12
- Trace scans by hand, then truth tables, then conversions daily
Applied programming: Domain 3
- Build and read rungs on your own platform's software
Connectivity: Domains 2, 4, 5
- Protocols, HMI tags, and network basics
Integration: Domain 14 plus review
- Fault-isolation drills, then timed mixed practice at our practice test site
Why this order? Domains 6 and 7 give you vocabulary used everywhere else, and Domain 10 only makes sense once you know the three sections. Troubleshooting comes last because it requires every other domain. If you want to gauge difficulty before committing, read how hard the exam is, and for timing questions, see FPABS exam dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The fourteen headings are unweighted preparation topics from Festo's curriculum documents. No official percentage weights were verified, so assume any domain can appear and prepare accordingly.
No. Each platform has its own curriculum and examination record, and the curricula are not combined requirements. Study the version that matches your instructor and lab equipment, using the manufacturer-labelled examples for that platform.
Virginia's CTE listings show 50 test items per platform exam, with a 70% passing score. Delivery is online through the school, and timing is set by the instructor. Confirm details with your own program.
NC3 lists a US$0 student certification charge. Training tuition and institutional fees are separate and vary by school, so check your institution's course costs, and see our pricing breakdown.
Numbering-system conversions (Domain 12), Boolean truth tables (Domain 13), and scan-cycle tracing (Domain 10) are the best candidates. Hands-on practice also helps with programming techniques and troubleshooting, which is why the labs are mandatory. A good starting point is the FPABS study guide.